Little Rock, Arkansas queer emo vets Everyone Asked About You (whose drummer Lee Buford went on to form The Body) have announced a discography comp, Paper Airplanes, Paper Hearts, due later this month via Numero Group (pre-order). The recordings have all been remastered from the original DATs, and the comp comes with a 20-page book featuring flyers, photos, lyrics, and an essay. If you're unfamiliar with the band, here's an excerpt of their bio:
The band formed in 1996 and consisted of Chris Sheppard, Lee Buford, Collins Kilgore, and Hannah Vogan, who bonded over a shared love for bands like Unwound. John Beachboard and Matt Bradley joined in 1998 contributing to the 1999 release of 'Let's Be Enemies.' Eventually, they incorporated synthesizers into their sound, influenced by bands like The Rentals and Rainer Maria.
They released their self-titled debut EP in 1997, which featured songs like "Paper Airplanes, Paper Hearts," "Me Vs. You," and "It's Days Like This That Make Me Wish Summer Lasted Forever." The EP received mixed reviews, but the band's dedicated fans supported them.
Lyrically their songs explored the trials and tribulations of adolescence, as well as Sheppard's own journey in discovering his sexuality ("Boston") and coming out as a gay man.
Sheppard, says, “If there's a theme through all of our songs, it's emotional and physical distance, challenging goodbyes and misunderstandings and terrible communication.”
Everyone Asked About You broke up in 2000, but their music continues to be influential to emo fans around the world. With fewer than 2000 records across their entire recorded output floating around, fans flocked to YouTube and MP3 blogs to download needle-drop rips and sing the praises of Hannah and Chris’s adolescent poetry. And now younger generations have begun discovering the band through social media-- a lost chapter in emo’s pre-mainstream history.
Everyone Asked About You played their first show in 23 years at Numero Group's 20th anniversary celebration earlier this year, and now they're set to play a release show for the new comp at Brooklyn's Saint Vitus on September 8. Tickets are on sale now, and apparently they're going quick.
The label writes, "In 1999, Everyone Asked About You spent four days in NYC and didn't play a single note. 24 years later, we're rectifying that with an album release show."
It's their only announced date at the moment. Stream one of the remastered tracks from the comp and watch a video of their recent reunion set below.